FY 2024 Organizations Leading Immigration Justice
Albany Park Defense Network (APDN) is a community-based, rapid-response network protecting and defending immigrants and residents from deportations and displacement, including housing evictions and rental discrimination. APDN continues the coordination of deportation defense cases – both existing and new – as they are seeing immigrants from South America arriving in Chicago by the thousands. APDN members and volunteers are also collaborating with OCAD on TPS/Asylum workshops supporting recently arrived immigrants. (SF)
Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment (AFIRE) organizes the Filipinx/a/o community on issues of immigration and workers rights. AFIRE strengthens workers’ rights in Illinois, promotes immigration policies that unite families and communities, and develops grassroots leaders. A Technical Assistance grant supported organizational growth, capacity building efforts, and tech upgrades. (TA)
Borderless Magazine is a bilingual news outlet dismantling racist and harmful media coverage of immigrants. They offer pathways for emerging journalists from immigrant communities to build a more representative media landscape. With the support of Technical Assistance Fund and Solidarity Fund grants, they were able to update their tech and expand their reach to support Spanish Edgewater Mutual Aid Network (EMAN) is a grassroots, volunteer, and non-hierarchical effort aiming to provide critical relief and engage in mutual aid practices with those in the Edgewater community. Their work exists to address their neighbors’ basic needs, including food, transit, medical expenses, social connectedness, and more. With a Solidarity Fund grant, they assisted newly arrived migrants in finding access to resources in Edgewater. (Solidarity Fund)
El Arbol Genoroso is a mutual aid community formed response to the sudden influx of new migrant neighbors to Chicago and the insufficient support provided to this vulnerable population by city leadership. They operate a free store out of the Humboldt Park United Methodist Church, providing clothing and other supplies to migrants in nearby shelters. When their previous space was sold, a Solidarity Fund supported them while they searched for a new space. (Solidarity Fund)
GAP Community Center provides support and mutual aid on the West Side of Chicago, by offering a food pantry and safe harbor for women and children fleeing domestic violence. With the support of a Solidarity Fund grant, they pivoted to support the needs of newly arrived migrants by providing more immigration services. (Solidarity Fund)
The Haitian Congress is working to help Haitian migrants receive fair and humane treatment under the congressional laws of the US. They are collaborating with the United African Organization, the Polish-American Association, Refugee ONE, Family Focus, and several churches and organizations in the Haitian community to provide support, which includes educational events for the migrants, (ESL, Know Your Rights seminars), health fairs, linking them to proper schools for their children, and generally providing outreach referral services. (CRJPF, Solidarity Fund)
Illinois Immigration Funders Collaborative consists of local and national foundations working to support issues facing the immigrant community. Funding priorities include organizing, legal assistance, community defense, and capacity-building to help organizations serve clients and work in coalitions to mobilize for change. The Chicago region currently has a range of organizations with expertise and support systems in place to assist incoming refugees and immigrants with immediate and longer-term needs. While this ecosystem is robust, it still requires ongoing funding support, especially during times of crisis. (TA)
Immigrant Solidarity DuPage (ISD) educates, organizes and mobilizes DuPage County around the rights, culture, and collective struggles of the Latinx community. ISD leads campaigns, workshops, rallies, and cultural events to combat racial profiling, labor abuse, and housing discrimination while also amplifying the diverse civic voices within the Latinx community. A Critical Response Fund grant supported their Casa DuPage DALE West Suburban Organizing Campaign to transform 50 local factories, restaurants and warehouses through better wages, working conditions and increased dignity for Latinx and Black workers. (CRF)
Kinfolk CoLab has served as a “third place” for marginalized folks to enjoy a deep sense of belonging and connection, and for radical community work to flourish. They seek to provide a safe space for BIPOC-led groups to work towards justice. This year, with support from a Solidarity Fund grant, they served as a place of refuge for those uprooted by geopolitical conflict and violence to rest, learn speaking migrants. (CRJPF, Lohengrin, Solidarity Fund, SF, TA) about resources, and plan for a stable future. (Solidarity Fund)
La Sol Negra is a volunteer-led group meeting the needs of women and children migrants. They provide sanctuary during community events, research resources for families, and build relationships within the community. A Solidarity Fund grant supported the groups housing justice efforts and case management while actively working to provide immediate housing needs to families. (Solidarity Fund)
La Tiendita Southside Strong is a mutual aid store for migrants living in Englewood, Southshore, Woodlawn, and shelters in Hyde Park. They offer services such as food delivery, engage with the community, hold workshops on the challenges faced by migrants and underprivileged individuals, and provide information on available resources. (Solidarity Fund)
Latino Union collaborates with low-income immigrant and U.S.born workers to develop the tools necessary to collectively improve social and economic conditions. Their organizing work is twopronged in its focal points: first, meeting the immediate needs of their base through logistical support and help navigating oppressive systems and barriers; second, organizing to nurture grassroots leadership from within their community so that those they’ve helped can help those that come next. (CBI, Solidarity Fund)
Lumpen Radio and Public Media Institute supported incoming refugees arriving in the 25th and 11th wards of Chicago. Lumpen – in tandem with other volunteer networks – provided space for donation sorting and distribution, and a place for refugees to rest indoors out of the weather and the heat. (Solidarity Fund)
Midwest Immigration Bond Fund (MIBF) was established as a revolving bond fund to address the critical gap in providing financial support for individuals held in Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Wisconsin. A Critical Response grant bolstered their capacity and helped them plan strategically when they saw a spike in detainees. (CRF)
Mijente was born in recognition of the need for a vehicle to confront the challenges of our time and respond to the growing threats to the Latine community. A Critical Response Fund grant supported their Chisme Chicago Tour stop, a part of their national efforts to uplift the demands of the Latine community, mobilize voters, and respond to the political moment by bringing strategic cultural organizing that motivates people to act in the November elections and beyond. (CRF)
Neighbors Helping Our New Neighbors-South Side Chicago provides mutual aid to migrants on the South Side – supporting medical expenses and access, offering free legal clinics, and providing home-warming kits with amenities such as bedding and kitchenware for those moving into new homes. (Solidarity Fund)
Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors (NIJFON) provides free legal services to low-income immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Aurora, Chicago, and Rockford. They also offer education to the general public on immigration issues and advocate for an accessible immigration system. A Technical Assistance grant funded IT management consultant services and technology equipment for new staff. (TA)
Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) fights alongside families and individuals challenging deportations, detention, and the criminalization of immigrants and people of color in Chicago and surrounding areas. Funding received from Crossroads Fund was used to send members to trainings around collective liberation, support a healing in the park initiative, and provide staff with access to popular education trainings and resources. Funds also supported work to decriminalize communities of color and efforts that took place at the end of 2023 to ensure Chicago would remain a sanctuary city for all. (CRJPF, Lohengrin, Solidarity Fund, SF)
PASO – West Suburban Action Project was founded to fight for immigrant rights in west suburban Cook County and other collar counties. PASO is known for its immigration legal services and advocacy for pro-immigrant policies. A Solidarity Fund grant helped them address the pause to the Medicaid expansion (HBIA/S) for undocumented immigrant adults and seniors. (Solidarity Fund) The Police Station Response Team began in 2023, when Chicago began using the lobbies and exteriors of police districts as holding locations for asylum-seekers due to lack of city shelter space. With a Solidarity Fund grant the response team has been able to continue growing and addressing their communities needs which include access to showers, social services, immigration support, and food. (Solidarity Fund)
The Sanctuary Working Group (SWG) is a cooperative, grassroots network of representatives from 43 different non-profit organizations and faith communities, primarily from across the Chicago area, uniquely positioned to respond to the currently arriving migrants. Since March 2020, the SWG, a program of Wellington United Church of Christ, has offered support and accompaniment to nearly 500 asylum seekers, both families and individuals, from primarily Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. (Solidarity Fund)
Southside Unidos is addressing immigration injustice and helping to create change by providing various levels of service to new, often homeless, migrants. Services include clothing, medical care, meal distributions, and trauma therapy among other things. Southside Unidos aims to empower the newly arrived migrant population and help breach the gap to provide equality for all. (Solidarity Fund)
